Yuan Ye had indeed said the wrong thing. His sentence was cut off by Fang Shaoyi before he had a chance to finish. Despite being pressed for an answer afterwards, Yuan Ye didn't really need to say anything. Each question was a reminder, a warning.

With each question, Yuan Ye became more aware of his mistake and almost said the wrong thing. His apologies, concessions, and pleas for forgiveness were all sincere.

But Fang Shaoyi, despite his usual mildness and lack of temper, was not someone Yuan Ye could handle when he was serious. Fang Shaoyi's face turned completely cold because of the half-sentence that Yuan Ye didn't finish, and he no longer had the same gentleness as before. He even stopped talking to him. 

The last words Fang Shaoyi said to Yuan Ye that day were, "Is it always so easy for you to say these things? It's been two years since our divorce, haven't you learned how to cherish things?" 

Each word felt like a needle piercing Yuan Ye's heart, leaving behind a bleeding hole.

But once the words were spoken, they couldn't be taken back. Yuan Ye could only hoarsely say, "...I'm sorry, I was wrong."

Fang Shaoyi didn't say another word to him. He gave him a deep, piercing look that felt like a knife stabbing straight into Yuan Ye's soul. After leaving that look, Fang Shaoyi walked away without even turning his head. He was truly angry. 

Over the years, Fang Shaoyi has had a limited number of times when he truly gets angry. His personality is such that he rarely gets upset with those around him, and Yuan Ye can hardly ever touch upon anything that would make him angry. But whenever he does get angry, Yuan Ye always suffers.

After that, the promotion for "Wind Wanderer" began, and Fang Shaoyi had to go with the director to various events. In this regard, Fang Shaoyi is always very cooperative with any production crew, unless his schedule is too busy. Besides, all the necessary promotions were already agreed upon in the contract. So for a period of time, Fang Shaoyi was not often at home, flying around with the director.

Yuan Ye couldn't catch a glimpse of him, but Fang Shaoyi would still answer his phone calls. However, his tone was different from before. 

Back then, he found Ji Xiaotao annoying and ignored him. But now, Ji Xiaotao finally has a chance to turn things around. Yuan Ye took the initiative to message him: "Tao ah." 

Ji Xiaotao replied promptly: "Yeah?" 

Yuan Ye asked: "Where are you guys now?" 

Ji Xiaotao answered quickly: "We're in Guangzhou." 

Yuan Ye scratched his head and asked again: "When are you coming back?" 

Ji Xiaotao said: "I don't know yet. We're going to Nanjing the day after tomorrow." 

Yuan Ye rubbed his nose and continued to ask: "Is your brother...still mad at me?" 

Ji Xiaotao glanced at Fang Shaoyi, who was in the car with him, with his eyes closed and seemingly asleep. Ji Xiaotao replied to Yuan Ye: "I can't tell, Brother Ye. But my brother's mood hasn't been great these past few days. What did you do to him? You shouldn't have..." 

It was inconvenientenient to talk to him about it, so Yuan Ye sat on his own sofa and sent Fang Shaoyi a message: "Brother Yi?" 

Fang Shaoyi didn't reply, so Yuan Ye sent another message: "Are you still angry?" 

The messages were sent, but there was no reply. 

These days, Fang Shaoyi's replies were few and far between. It was already good if he replied once out of three messages. Even when he did reply, he only said a few words in a cold and distant manner. But Yuan Ye didn't have any temper, it was his fault, so he had to endure it all. 

Their relationship, which was once good, suddenly became cold. It seemed a bit ridiculous, all because of Yuan Ye's half-sentence. 

But nothing is truly a coincidence. They were bound to have this confrontation sooner or later, even if it wasn't this time. Despite the peaceful harmony of the past half year, both of them knew that the calm waters ran deep. 

Otherwise, why had neither of them mentioned marrying again? 

Fang Shaoyi flew around, and Yuan Ye was unable to catch a glimpse of him. He had his own problems to deal with, and he had already given a draft of the script to Feng Leizi. It might take four or five revisions to perfect it, or they might not even continue working together after the second draft. 

His teacher had been urging Yuan Ye to come to the school for a talk, and he had invited a few successful people to attend. Yuan Ye had to go. 

Both of them were busy with their own things, and the previous small quarrel was not resolved properly. So now they had this awkward relationship, as if they had suddenly pulled the distance far back to several months ago.

Looking at it this way, their relationship for the past year seemed like a layer of foam, fragile and illusory. As long as one side loosened the tension between them, the peace they had enjoyed would become a phantom.

But there was still something different.

Although Yuan Ye said the wrong thing, he didn't really want to back down. The emphasis of that sentence was in the first half, and the second half was just to intensify the emotion. Fang Shaoyi was very concerned about that sentence, and later he was angry, giving Yuan Ye a cold face. This was all expected, Yuan Ye knew he said the wrong thing, so Fang Shaoyi had every right to be angry. 

Last year, when their relationship was awkward, Yuan Ye hadn't taken that step yet, and they were both testing each other. But since Yuan Ye decided to start over, he never thought about giving up. Some things and some people, losing them once is enough, he had said this to Fang Shaoyi as well.

So this time, Yuan Ye's attitude was always positive. He would just coax him if he's angry, and solve conflicts when they came up, and if things weren't clear then they would take their time to figure it out. But he wouldn't think about breaking up or giving up.

Fang Shaoyi would call Director Xin "Uncle" in private, and when they talked, they spoke candidly.

Director Xin asked him, "What's up? I heard you haven't been taking any jobs lately?"

Fang Shaoyi didn't deny it and nodded, "Yeah, just sorting myself out."

Director Xin gave him a glance. "I heard from Wei Hua that you didn't take his movie. What does that mean? Are you thinking of transitioning to behind the scenes?" 

"I haven't thought that far ahead," Fang Shaoyi replied. "I'll consider it later." 

In fact, before the age of forty, Fang Shaoyi had never considered transitioning to behind the scenes. Each stage of life had its corresponding plan, and his love for film was initially expressed through acting. Transitioning to behind the scenes brought about a fundamental change in the way films were transmitted. 

Although acting and going behind the scenes could coexist without conflict and both carried a lot of responsibility, for Fang Shaoyi, he still wanted his acting to be more pure while he was young. With other pressures weighing on him, he couldn't fully immerse himself in the film. 

Moreover, when it comes down to it, what's the big difference between behind the scenes and on stage? 

"There's no hurry...," Director Xin nodded thoughtfully. "I'm planning to shoot a disaster film next year. Do you want to join?" 

Fang Shaoyi chuckled and shook his head. "Uncle, I haven't thought that far ahead. Don't worry about giving me a role. I can't even predict my own state next year." 

Director Xin waved his hand and laughed. "Never mind, I just asked casually. Actually, I wanted to invite your father." 

"Well, you might have to put in some effort to ask him," Fang Shaoyi smiled. "He's busy with his own projects and might not have time next year." 

Director Xin sighed and exclaimed, "Ah, all the relationship we had when we were young has disappeared. That old man doesn't care about doing any favors!" 

Fang Shaoyi couldn't follow along and make fun of his dad, so he stayed quiet for a while before bringing up a suggestion, "Uncle, if there's a suitable role, could you consider my friend, Jian Xu?"

Director Xin raised an eyebrow, "Your friend? I've seen his performances, he's been in TV dramas and his acting is a bit superficial, it's all out there."

"Well, he's been in the industry for a long time," Fang Shaoyi admitted, "but he has good acting skills, with a little guidance he can find his rhythm."

"Okay, I'll take a look later," Director Xin said.

Fang Shaoyi nodded and didn't say much, the two of them continued to chat about other things. 

'Wind Wanderer' was released during the National Day holiday. The competition during this holiday season wasn't particularly fierce, with only one American sci-fi blockbuster and the rest being domestic films. The filmmakers didn't expect the movie to have a particularly high box office, given its subject matter and ending. 

However, with Director Xin and Fang Shaoyi combined, coupled with the promotion of martial arts sentiment, the audience's expectations were still quite high. On the day of the premiere, the box office reached nearly 60 million, which was not bad.

On the day of the premiere, Yuan Ye went to see it himself, attending the midnight premiere. The movie was two hours long, and Yuan Ye watched every scene with great interest. 

This was Director Xin's first time exploring this genre, and while the story was not exceptional, the use of camera angles and colors was truly beautiful. The fight scenes were also a standout, with smooth and elegant action design that left many scenes breathtaking and awe-inspiring. 

Fang Shaoyi's acting was superb, especially in the latter half of the film where he portrayed a character with one blind eye, relying solely on his emotions to convey his message. The young swordsman was carefree and charming, while the middle-aged swordsman was melancholic and sorrowful. 

In the final scene, with a sword at his throat, Fang Shaoyi delivered a poignant line, "I am defending half my lifetime's worth." 

After watching the entire film, one is left feeling even more oppressed, perhaps due to the tragic ending. 

After leaving the cinema, Yuan Ye drove home with a heavy heart. The movie was somber from beginning to end, and anyone who watched it probably wouldn't feel any lighter. However, Yuan Ye's emotions didn't solely come from the movie; it was probably more because of Fang Shaoyi. He had stared intently at Fang Shaoyi's every glance and movement in the film, not missing a single one.

Over the years, there were very few of Fang Shaoyi's movies that he hadn't followed or participated in. This one was the exception. He was unaware of the script or the filming process. Except for when he went to the set a day early to stay overnight for a variety show recording, he had no contact with this film whatsoever. 

Looking back now, there are still some regrets. So Yuan Ye watched the movie with extra seriousness, as if he wanted to see Fang Shaoyi from that year through the screen.

After returning home, Yuan Ye called Fang Shaoyi. At first, he didn't answer, so Yuan Ye took a shower and called again. This time, Fang Shaoyi picked up.

Fang Shaoyi's voice on the phone still sounded a bit cold. Yuan Ye asked him, "Brother Yi, where are you?"

"At home." Fang Shaoyi replied.

"You're back?" Yuan Ye was a bit surprised because Ji Xiaotao said they wouldn't be back until the day after tomorrow.

Fang Shaoyi responded with a simple "Mm" and didn't say anything else.

Yuan Ye told him, "I just watched the movie, it was really good."

Fang Shaoyi still said nothing.  

"Can I come over and find you?" Yuan Ye tentatively asked. 

"No," Fang Shaoyi said flatly. "Don't bother." 

Yuan Ye sighed and said with a smile, "How can I be forgiven... How much longer will you be angry for." 

"Until it's carved into your memories," Fang Shaoyi's voice remained the same, without any ups and downs, but Yuan Ye could still hear that he was actually emotional. "You say it once, and I'll make you feel it once. I want you to remember it for a long time, so that you won't say anything like that so easily." 

Yuan Ye thought he was quite calm, but Fang Shaoyi's words still pierced his heart. He said sincerely, "I really know I was wrong." 

Without saying a word, Fang Shaoyi let Yuan Ye talk on his own. He leaned against the headboard and listened as Yuan Ye spoke slowly, "I just watched the movie and it was really good. I like every character you played. Actually, if I were to judge the movie on its own, it would only be a six out of ten. But because you acted in it, you brought it up to an eight or even a ten out of ten."

"The movie can make you, but you can also make the movie," Yuan Ye chuckled with pride evident in his eyes and smile. "You were born for the movies."

Fang Shaoyi knew what he was going to say and listened quietly before asking, "So?"

Yuan Ye let out a soft sigh and spoke in a low voice, "So how could I possibly make you give up on it because of me?" 

Fang Shaoyi's voice had softened a bit. He knew exactly what how Yuan Ye felt even if he didn't say it, but hearing it still made him feel a little soft-hearted. Fang Shaoyi said, "I didn't say I was going to give up. Even if one day I really do give up, it's only for myself."

The words sounded a bit pointed, but Ye Yuan didn't believe it at all. 

Fang Shaoyi's voice had softened a bit, so Ye Yuan took the opportunity to lower his attitude and speak from the heart, "There are indeed some problems between us, but since I've already made a mistake once, I don't want to make the same mistake twice. I just spoke out of turn, don't take it to heart." 

"I can chase after you again, get back with you again, and I feel lucky for that. Last year, I didn't know if you still wanted to be with me. Before going on that variety show, I just wanted to be with you again, even if it was just pretending, to show others and satisfy myself." 

Yuan Ye laughed when he said this, then added, "It's embarrassing."

Fang Shaoyi was silent for a moment after hearing this. 

The atmosphere became a bit awkward. To ease the tension, Yuan Ye was about to say something, but Fang Shaoyi finally spoke up.

"Last year on set, you told me that sometimes you don't realize the value of something until you lose it," Fang Shaoyi asked him, "Do you remember?"

"I remember, of course I remember," Yuan Ye said, "You are my heart." 

Fang Shaoyi's voice was low and slow as he said, "You only know the pain of losing something after it's gone, but I had already felt the pain when you uttered the word 'give up'." 

Yuan Ye fiercely closed his eyes, pressing his face against his knees. His eyes and nose suddenly felt sour, and his heart ached.